Fort Myers Beach

We arrived at San Carlos RV Resort on Dec. 18, our home for the next two and a half months. The RV park is on the mainland side about 1/2 mile from the bridge that goes over to the beaches in Fort Myers Beach.  This road goes from two lanes down to one to cross the bridge to the beaches and has been backed up 1-2 miles every day beginning around 10 am and lasting until after supper.  We are hoping it is this way because of the holidays.

We have walked along San Carlos Blvd. both directions, we have ridden our bikes from here to Lover’s Key and the other direction to Sanibel, and we have tried a few of the local seafood restaurants and bars.  We drove to downtown Fort Myers one day where we had a very good hamburger at Ford’s Garage.  

We had a very quiet Christmas Day.  It didn’t really feel very Christmasy because it was so warm!  But we did enjoy visiting with all our families via FaceTime.

The weather has been inconsistent - one day cool, some rain then sunshine that tempts us to wear shorts but not quite warm enough to be comfortable then cool and windy.  It seems to be getting warmer the last few days and we hope it stays that way for awhile.  

We Landed in DeLand

We left Beverly beach and drove a short distance to Ormond to get sun shades mounted on the windshield and side windows.  They attach with magnets so there will be no ladder climbing to put them up or take down.

We then drove to DeLand in central Florida where we camped on the St. John’s River near the DeLeon State Park (think Fountain of Youth) and Hontoon Island State Park.  We spent part of the afternoon attempting to put up the sun shades which looked like it should be a lot easier to do than we made it.  

Rain was predicted for Wednesday afternoon so we explored DeLand’s Historic District.  I really wanted to see the Stetson Mansion but it was closed.  The Valusia County Courthouse was open to visitors and has a really beautiful stained glass dome.  

By the time we got to DeLeon State Park the rain was falling so we didn’t stick around for long.  They have an area roped off to swim in Blue Spring which empties into the river and is a nice place to canoe.  No manatees were in residence that we could see.  But the Great Blue Heron looked pretty miserable in the rain!

Today we hiked 5.5 miles on the Hontoon Island located in the St. John’s River.  It was a a cool 58 degrees which made for a good walk and the island is beautiful with large palm trees, ferns and palm bushes as well as very tall deciduous shade trees.  Too cold for alligators or snakes.

Camptown Races

We pulled into our site at Camptown RV Resort on Friday afternoon and we were off to the ‘races’!  We had time to take a walk and then while John  hunted for a place to eat seafood for dinner Pam finished up the Christmas decorations by lighting a wreath and setting out a few more nick-knacks.  We opened windows so we could hear the waves lapping on the shore, lulling us into a good nights sleep.

The next few days we did not race around.  A couple of days were cloudy, rainy or foggy with one day of sunshine where we waded in the ocean waves and enjoyed some sunshine.  Pam did a couple of morning runs and we both walked often and explored the town of Flagler.

Our Winter Trip Begins

Since this is the year when our children and grandchildren spend Christmas with their in-laws and cousins, John has convinced me to leave MO on December 8 and make a fast trip cross county to warm, sunny Florida.

In order for me to get into the Christmas spirit I have brought several decorations and a small tree with us.  But we also stopped at my mother’s home in St. Charles for a couple of days to help her get her Christmas decorations put up.  We hung wreaths, washed windows, replaced light bulbs, and then put up the Christmas tree and decorated it with ornaments that brought back many loving memories.

We got as far as Waycross GA on the second day of travel and are camped in the Laura’s Walker State Park on the Laura Walker Lake.  It’s so quiet and peaceful with frogs quietly croaking and the occasional bird chirping.  Aaahhh!  Such serenity!